Reigning hot dog eating champ gets engaged, chows down on 61 franks

Reigning hot dog eating champ gets engaged, chows down on 61 franks

Joey "Jaws" Chestnut (CNN)

NEW YORK — Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, reigning king of the world’s most famous hot dog eating contest, may have had an extra boost of confidence Friday. With a hug and kiss, his girlfriend of three years accepted his marriage proposal.

On a rainy Independence Day at Brooklyn’s Coney Island, the San Jose, California, resident once again clinched the title at Nathan’s hot dog eating contest before hundreds of umbrella-toting spectators at the annual celebration of gluttony.

“It was just a dog fight the entire time,” he told ESPN, which broadcast the popular event.

Chestnut’s win at Nathan’s 98th annual International Hot Dog Eating Contest secured his title for the eighth consecutive year, but he was still a handful of wieners away from his world record 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes that he set last year.